A profound insight into the stories behind the Tour de France, showcasing the sacrifice, despair, strategy and chaos of those four weeks in July to reveal a fascinating new perspective on the greatest race on earth.

Every year the Tour de France puts on one of the great viewing spectacles in sport, showcasing extraordinary human endurance and one of the most beautiful countries on the planet. But underneath the facade, it's a different story – a story of suffering, sacrifice and pain. This is that story.

Pain and Privilege gets under the skin of cycling's cruel super race and describes what the race that unites people from all over the globe is really like, from the laughs to the tears, from the politics to the personal, from inspirational triumph to desperate failure. Team staff, sports scientists, psychologists, media and dignitaries all contribute to draw a more complex and confronting portrait of the world's grandest sporting spectacle.

With exclusive contributions from Richie Porte, Cadel Evans, Chris Froome, Michael Matthews, Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett, Robbie McEwen, Michael Mørkøv, Jens Debusschere, Matt White, Allan Peiper, Cherie Pridham, Enrico Poitschke, Mathew Hayman, Simon Clarke, Marcel Kittel and Luke Durbridge.

Plus, insights from Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, Patrick Lefevere, David Brailsford, Tadej Pogačar and more.

About the Author

Sophie Smith is a freelance journalist and broadcaster with 14 years of experience reporting for commercial newspapers, magazines, websites and television. Sophie has a background in international and Olympic sports, and got hooked on professional cycling when she was assigned the round as a cadet. She spent two years living and working for cycling titles in London, exclusively following the WorldTour circuit. Now based in inner-city Melbourne, every year Sophie travels across the world to cover professional races for major Australian, UK and US press outlets. The 35-year-old has reported from nine Tours de France and counting, four UCI Road World Championships, the Giro d’Italia, spring classics, London 2012, the UCI Track World Championships, Tour Down Under, Tour of California, Tour of Britain, UAE Tour, Tour of Oman and more. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Monash University where she majored in journalism.